Electromagnetic switching system



July 29, 1953- J. 'r. FOFQRELLAD 4) 2,845,612

' ELECTROMAGNETIC swncnmc SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 9', 1951 III/I14 VIII/l4 United States Patent ELECTROMAGNETIC SWITCHING SYSTEM J ose Tous Forrellad, Barcelona, 'Spain Original application January 9, 1951, Serial No. 205,090, now Patent No. 2,713,533, dated July 19, 1955. Digildsegognd this application June 7, 1955, Serial No.

3 Claims. crew-177 The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for supervising the operation of machines which perform diverse operational steps. More specifically, this invention relates to improvements in electromagnetic switching systems for the operation of apparatus for supervising and recording time intervals and the operation of machines of the kind referred to'above. This application is a division of my earlier filed application, Serial No. 205,090, filed Jan. 9, 1951.

Pat. No. 2,713,533 (resulting from application Ser. No. 205,090) relates to a system for recording the operation of machines appropriately correlated to time periods. Provision is made for recording the time periods and the present invention has its origin in providing means for forcing marking wheels against record sheets.

v The invention is, however, not limited to such applications and it is in 'generalan object of the invention to provide an improved electromagnetic system for controllably transmitting movement producing forces to a utilization device. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved timing control switching system.

To facilitate an understanding of the present invention, preferred embodiments thereof will be explained with reference to an operation suitable for use in connection with the apparatus of the aforesaid patent and consequently the structure described below will refer to the recording of time periods. I

In achieving its objects, the invention provides, for example, a system of electromagnets operatively associated with each other and with a utilization device and so combined as to permit the transmission of forces'at desired time intervals and to prevent such a transmission other than when specifically required. I

Other and further objects of th'e invention will be apparent'from the detailed discussion of a preferred embodiment of the invention which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of electrical circuits and associated mechanical devices for effecting marking operations for several time recording elements; I Figure 2 is a schematic, side elevational view of a pre ferred arrangement of the mechanical devices shown in part in Figure 1; e m

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line I IIIII'of Figure 2; and V Figure 4 is. a fragmentary sectional view showing the structural details of a minute recording element.

The following description referring to Figs. 1 to 4 will describe mechanisms and electrical circuits provided for moving marking wheels such as shown in Pat. No. 2,713,533 into marking contact with a record sheet at the end of predetermined time intervals.

As seen in Fig. 2, marking wheels M are mounted coaxially on the ends of rockable arms R for movement substantially vertically toward and away from arecord sheet which is fed around a back-up roller )5 with an inked ribbon I disposed between the record sheet and the Patented July 29, 1958 marking elements. Thus, when the marking wheels are raised to press the ribbon against the record sheet, an inked indication of the time in, for example, hours and five-minute intervals will be imprinted on the record sheet. While the marking wheels are moved into marking contact with the record sheet at five-minute intervals, a mechanism, shown in Fig. 4, is moved into marking contact with the record sheet after each one-minute interval. The last mentioned mechanism is mounted alongside the marking wheels M on rockable arms 116d independent of the arms R and includes two spaced bars 1161: and 116s carried by the arms 116d. One or more styluses 116a are slidably mounted in the bars 116b and c and project upwardly from the latter to press, at their upper ends 116e, against the inked ribbon when the arms 116d are raised. The styluses 116a are used to imprint a minute indication, in the form of a dot or a line, on the record sheet. In order to insure uniform marking pressure, each of the styluses 116a has an abutment 116) thereon against which a compression spring 116g acts to urge the related stylus yieldably to a position in which the abutment 116 engages against the lower face of the bar 116b. v I

The clockwork mechanism 44, which is itself conventional, controls the movement of the marking wheels M and of the minute indicating styluses 116a into and out of marking contact with the record sheet. .For this purpose, mercury switches 74 and 75 are rockably mounted adjacent the peripheries of toothed wheels or ratchets 53 and 54, respectively, fixed on ashaft 45 .driven by the clock-work mechanism 44. The ratchets 53 and 54 have sixty and twelve. teeth, respectively, and each of the switches 74 and 75 has a finger F extending therefrom to ride on the periphery of the related ratchet. The switches 74 and 75 are mounted for normal disposition in open circuit positions and they are rocked to circuit closing position Whenever the related finger encounters a tooth T on the periphery of the corresponding ratchet. Since the shaft 45 is controlled to undergo one complete revolution in an hour, ratchet 53, having sixty teeth, will cause closing of the switch 74 after each minute while ratchet 54, having twelve teeth, will rock switch 75 to its circuit closing position at the end of each five-minute interval.

As seen in Fig. 1, one of the terminals of the mercury switch 74 is connected to the intermediate tap 4 of transformer 1 by a conductor 76, and the other terminal of switch 74 is connected by a conductor 77 to aterminal of a normally closed relay 78 which has its other terminal grounded. A bridging line 80 extends from the fixed contact 79 of the relay 78 to the fixed contact81 of, a double acting relay 82. The movable contact or blade 83 of the relay 7 8 is connected to the conductor 77, while the movable contact or blade 84 of the relay 82 isconnected to the input to the coil of the latter, with the other end of the coil of the relay 82 being connected to; ground througha normally closed switch 85. The switch 85 is preferably mounted on a rocking control lever 86 soas to be opened and closed by rocking of this lever which controls the movements of the minute indicating styluses 116a. 1

The double acting-relay 82'is arranged so that the blade or movable contact 84 thereof normally engages the fixed contact 81, and the other fixed contact87 of the relay 82 is electrically connected to the tap 4 through a conductor 88 and the conductor 76. The input to the coil of relay 82 is carried bya conductor 89 extending from one terminal of the mercury switch 75, and another conductor 90 extends from the input side of the relay82 to. one side of the electro magnet 91 which is grounded atits 'other side. The electro-magnet 91 is mounted on onefend of the lever 86, which is pivotally supported by a location intermediate its ends, and an armature 92 is rockably mounted on the lever 86 adjacent to the electromagnet 91 and carries an arm 93 having a hook or latch member 94 at its lower free end. A spring 95 (Fig. l) yieldably urges the arm 93 to rock to a position in which the hook 94 is separated from the complementary hook or latch member 96 extending upwardly from one end of the rocking member 97. The rocking member 97 is pivotally mounted at its other end, as at pivot 98, and is formed with a longitudinal slot 101 which receives an eccentric 99 on a rotated shaft 100. Thus, as the shaft 188 is :otated, the eccentric 99 causes oscillation of the member 97 about its pivot 98. As long as the hooks 94 and 96 are disengaged from each other, the rocking of the member 97 is not communicated to the leve 86 which carries the minute indicating styluses 116a. However, when the armature 92 and arm 93 are rocked by energization of the electro-rnagnet 91, the hooks 94 and 96 engage and the lever 86 is rocked by the rocking movement of the member 97 to move the styluses 116a into and out of marking contact with the record sheet.

Still another conductor 102 extends from the other terminal of the mercury switch 75 to one side of an electro-magnet 103 which is mounted on an end of a rocking control lever 104 and has its other side grounded. The lever 184 is provided for controlling the movements of the marking Wheels M toward and away from marking contact with the record sheet and ha an armature S rockably mounted thereon adjacent the electromagnet 103. A hook 106 is carried by the armature 105 and has a hook or latch member 107 at its free lower end for engagement with a complementary hook or latch member 108 extending upwardly from the rocking member 97. A spring 109 is connected to the arm 106 to urge the latter yieldably to a position separating the hook 107 from the hook 108, and the electro-magnet 103, when energized, operates to rock the arm 106 to a position in which the hooks 107 and 108 engage and the lever 184 is rocked by the movement of the member 97 to move the marking wheels M into and out of marking contact with the record sheet.

In accordance with the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, a drive shaft 110 is provided with an eccentric 111 which takes the place and performs the function of the eccentric 99 (Fig. 1). In Fig. 2, the lever 39 and the associated magnet 35, armature 36, arm 37 and latch 38 from Pat. No. 2,713,533 are visible. Further, in the arrangement of the Figs. 2 and 3, the hooks 96 and 108, which are shown separately in Fig. 1, are incorporated into a single wide hook member 113 formed at the top of a web 112 extending from the free end of the rocking member 97, and the control levers 86 and 104 are rockably mounted in side-by-side relationship on an axle 114 with the arms 93 and 186, carried by the lever 86 and 104, respectively, being formed to dispose the hooks 94 and 107 close together (Fig. 3) for selective engagement with the hook member 113.

The end of the lever 104 remote from the electromagnet 103 is pivotally connected to a rod or link 115 which is in turn connected to a crank arm 116. The crank arm 116 is angularly fixed relative to the pivoted arms carrying the marking wheels M for a marking of the hours and the five-minute intervals. While the lever 86 is not visible in the view of Fig. 2, it is to be understood that the end of that lever remote from the electromagnet 91 has an operative connection similar to that of the pivoted arms 116d (Fig. 4) which support the styluses 116a for marking the one-minute intervals. Further, it is to be understood that the movable contact of the switch 85 (Figs. 1 and 2) is carried by the lever 86 and is arranged to engage the related fixed contact when the lever 86 is in its initial rest position, and to move away from that fixed contact when the magnet bearing end of the lever 86 is depressed by engagement of the hooks 93 and 113.

The electrical circuits and mechanisms described above for moving the various marking elements into marking contact with the record sheet operate as follows:

At the end of each minute, the ratchet 53 acts to close the mercury switch 74 and an electrical circuit is completed from the tap 4 of the transformer 1 through conductor 76, switch 74, conductor '77, movable contact 83 of relay 81, bridging conductor 80, movable contact 84 of relay 82, conductor 90, electro-rnagnet 91, and back through ground. The energized electromagnet 91 attracts the armature 92 to swing the arm 93 to a position in which the hooks 94 or 96, or 94 and 113, become engaged. As the member 97 is rocked downwardly, it draws the lever 86 with it, by reason of the interengaged hooks, and the rocking of the levers causes the support arm lied to rock in the direction displacing the styluses 16a into marking contact with the record sheet to provide a recording of the minute interval on the record sheet.

The closing of the mercury switch 74 also causes energization of the relays 78 and 82, and the energized relay 78 soon moves the contact 83 away from the fixed contact 78 to interrupt the circuit through the bridging line 88. However, the energized relay 82 also causes movement of the blade or movable contact 84 out of contact with the fixed contact 81 and into contact with the other fixed contact 87 so that the electro-magnet 91 continues to be energized through the alternate circuit formed by conductors 76 and 88, contacts 87 and 84, and conductor 90.

The contact breaker or switch remains closed until the hooks 94 and 96 or 94 and 113 have been engaged and the lever 86 begins to move from its at-rest position. The opening of switch 85 interrupts the circuit through relay 82 and the latter is deenergized to return the blade 84 to a position of contact with the contact 81 thereby halting the energization of the electro-magnet 91. However, the hooks 94 and 96, or 94 and 113, continue to engage each other as long as the member 97 is exerting a downward pull on the related end of the lever 86. When the lever 86 returns to its original or at-rest position at the end of a complete rocking cycle, the switch 85 closes again, but the relay 82 cannot be energized again to repeat the operation since the energized relay 78 continues to hold the movable contact 83 away from fixed contact 79 and the blade 84 of relay 82, is in contact with fixed contact 81. When the ratchet 53 has rotated sufiiciently to permit the return of mercury switch 74 to its normal open position, the relay 78 is deenergized to permit return of the contact 83 to its normal closed position against fixed contact 79 and the circuit is again in readiness to cause movement of the one minute indication marking means into contact with the record sheet when the next tooth on ratchet 53 comes into operative or switch closing position.

Every five minutes, in addition to the above operations, the ratchet 54 acts to rock mercury switch 75 to its closed position and the electr-o-magnet 103 is then energized, along with the electro-magnet 91, by current passing through the shunt circuit formed by the conductor 89, closed switch 75 and conductor 102. The energized electromagnet 103 then attracts the armature to rock the arm 106 to a position in which the hooks 107 and 108, or 107 and 113, engage to cause rocking of the lever 104 which controls the movement of the marking wheels M into and out of marking contact with the record sheet. The described circuits operate in the same manner to prevent repeated rocking of the lever 104 as has been described in connection with the lever 86 so that, after each minute, the styluses 116a provide a single mark or one-minute indication, while, at the end of each five minute interval, the marking wheels 16 and 33 provide a single printing of the hour and minutes representing the actual time then established by the clockwork mechanism 44.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of the apparatus set forth, which modifications do not depart essentially from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A timing control switching system comprising a source of electrical power, first and second ra-tchets, a time control device driving said ratchets, first and second mercury switches respectively closed by said ratchets at different time intervals, said first switch being connected to said source, a first relay coupled to said first switch and normally conditioned to pass power received from said first switch but being responsive to the power for interrupting its passage, a second relay normally coupled to said first relay but responsive to power received therefrom for being coupled directly to said source, a relay switch coupled to said second relay. for controlling the response thereof to power, first and second rockable levers, indicating means controlled by said levers, first and second hooks respectively coupled to said levers, first and second oscillating hooks adapted for respectively engaging said first and second hooks to drive said levers, a first electromagnet responsive to said second relay with said source coupled thereto for engaging said first hook with said first oscillating hook, a second electromagnet responsive to the closing of said second mercury switch and the coupling of said second relay with said source for engaging said second hook with said second oscillating hook, and means for oscillating said oscillating hook and for opening said relay switch and thereby decoupling said second relay from said source.

2. A timing control switching system comprising a source of electrical power, timing means, first and second switches respectively closed by said timing means at predetermined time intervals, said first switch being connected to said source, a first bi-stable device coupled to said first switch and normally conditioned to pass power received from said first switch but being responsive to the power for interrupting its passage, a second bistable device normally coupled to said first bi-stable de- 6' vice but responsive to power received therefrom for being coupled directly to said source, a control switch coupled to said second bi-stable device for controlling the response thereof to the power, indicating means, first and second controls coupled to said indicating means,

first and second engaging means adapted for respectively engaging said first and second controls, a first electromagnet responsive to said second bi-stable device with said source coupled thereto for engaging said first control with said first engaging means, a second electromagnet responsive to the closing of said second switch and the coupling of said second bi-stable device, with said source for engaging said second control with said second engaging means, and means for operating said engaging means and for opening said control switch and thereby decoupling said second bi-stable device from said source. 1

3. A timing control switching system comprising a source of electrical power, timing means, a switch closed by said timing means at predetermined time intervals and connected to said source, first means coupled to said switch and normally conditioned to pass power recieved from said switch but being responsive to the power for interrupting its passage, second means normally coupled tosaid first means but responsive to power received therefrom for being coupled directly to said source, a control switch coupled to said second means for controlling the response thereof to power, utilization means, a control for said utilization means, a magnetic device responsive to said second means with said source coupled thereto for engaging said control with said utilization means, and means for actuating said control and for opening said control switch and thereby decoupling said second means from said source.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 420,851 Wood Feb. 4, 1890 2,447,803 Hobby Aug. 24, 1948 2,687,936 Cooper et a1. Aug. 31, 1954 

